S03.E05: Killing Me Softly with His Song

[jewel21]

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Liz makes the choice to lie to Heath. Maria and Rosa stand up to Jordan. Isobel does some digging into Jones.

Airdate: 08/23/2021

[Katesgr811]

Episode was good. I struggle a little bit with the “wokeness” of the show sometimes. I get that bringing in current events can make an emotional and strong story line, but damn it makes them seem so galling.

I found that I cared much more about Kyle getting impaled last week then I do about maria being attacked this week. And I like Maria. Also, when is the deep sky coming back into play? And can Max and Liz just get back together already??

[KittenPokerCheater]

Since Kyle is alive and well (whew), I'm now thinking it's his Mom in the casket.  :'(  And yes, I'm not so worried that Maria's going to die since it's her vision.

All the tethered heart failure moving around between Max/Liz/Kyle was confusing.  I'm glad they are all alive and that Max's heart is healed.  Does this mean he can now save people willy-nilly without worrying about side effects? 

Thought it was funny and icky that the racist guy's phone password was 80085.  Way to go Rosa for clocking the password, and I wanted to hug her Dad for using the fire extinguisher.

Michael's apology to Rosa was heartfelt, and I am glad they addressed what happened back then.

BUT- the actor who plays Michael doesn't look like he's having any fun this season. I don't think it's just the writing- he's missing that Loki-style sparkle.

But Kyle was the MVP tonight, as he has been all season.

[Lady Calypso]

Very, very strong episode. I was surprised with how little I missed Alex, in his second missing episode in a row. I only realized he was missing when I was thinking about how nice it was that Michael was actually interacting with other characters, and actually being quite useful. His story with Rosa was actually very strong. It also allowed Rosa to interact with someone new, and it's much better than her being forced into a redeeming a racist storyline. 

Especially when she also was the one who said in this episode that she wasn't all in on helping/protecting a racist. 

I thought it, at least, was an interesting enough twist with Max being tethered to Liz AND Kyle. At least Jones finally healed Max's heart, so we can get on to the next plot. 

Also, is Liz's beau Heath really fully gone? Did they drop Heath as fast as they dropped Wyatt? Is that the changes the now current showrunner made? Because, if so, I ain't mad about it at ALL. I mean, Wyatt will surely be back at some point this season, but I'm not so sure about Heath. He could either come back once the LA company stuff finds a way to Roswell or they could have dropped all the LA stuff completely. At least Liz is back, and hopefully they give her great work to do. But I'm not mad if Heath never returns, even if I love the actor.

And great on Isobel for harnessing her new powers and figuring Jones out. I mean...after his explanation on why he murdered that Zeke guy, I can't really blame him. Sure, it brought on some issues with Jordan and his racist crew, BUT it also kind of worked out in the end with Maria, Rosa and new girl taking him down (I wish I remembered her name).

With how protective Maria was over Kyle, I had a feeling that she'd worry herself into danger, and lo and behold, I was right. However, she wasn't wrong. I mean, Max DID find Maria in his place, right? And Kyle was likely taken by one of Jordan's racist assholes?

38 minutes ago, KittenPokerCheater said:

BUT- the actor who plays Michael doesn't look like he's having any fun this season. I don't think it's just the writing- he's missing that Loki-style sparkle.

Is it sad that the first thought I had when I read this was "That's probably because he's not showrunner's pet anymore"? That being said, I do think it's more because Michael is on the backburner to other characters and he hasn't quite gotten to explore his story that they've set up with him being the Dictator's Son. They revealed that, and then promptly put it aside so Michael can be a supporting character to others. Which I'm not even mad about, because it still gave him a good story this episode alone. But Michael hasn't gotten to really showcase his invulnerability to fire to his family, and he hasn't gotten to learn about himself from Jones (who is now locked up) so he's probably having an identity crisis. It still intrigues me, and I think the actor will do a good job.

[KittenPokerCheater]

1 minute ago, Lady Calypso said:

Is it sad that the first thought I had when I read this was "That's probably because he's now showrunner's pet anymore"

I think you are 100% correct.

But it is cool to see the character interact with other people on a more regular basis.  And I didn't miss Alex at all.  I won't miss Heath either.

[tvwatchergordis]

Liking how Maria has more of a character now that she's away from the dreaded triangle. She's obviously going to hook up with Gregory at one point or another as the show seems to be implying that heavily. But like I said for now I like how she's her own identity and a major part to play in the story line. 

Can't figure Jones out. What is his deal? He cares about Max even as far as to kill Zeke to save Max. And apparently he healed Max Liz and Kyle without wanting something in return. Still I don't trust him he's definitely hiding something. What that is who knows but I still feel like he's manipulating the pod squad for some higher purpose. I'm Isobel when it comes to him, I trust him and I don't. But if he's not the real villain this season then who is? It can't just be the racists. 

I applaud Liz for identifying the toxicness in her relationship with Max. For a minute I thought she was there to reconcile with Max. She did tell him she still loved him(sorta) but then no, she gave vali reasons why they can't be together. But, we all know that this RNM will reunite them sooner or later. IMO recognizing their faults can only help them to move forward & heal. 

Bye Keith, glad he won't be around much longer. Good for Liz also acknowledging her wrongs with him too. She's really maturing and I like that. She was always a strong woman but very immature when it came down to it. 

Wow Michael really had nothing to do this episode. Did like his scene with Rosa though. I'll admit that I'm missing Alex.

So is Kyle in the coffin or not? Max saved him making it seem like he won't die after all. But then again, the ending was very ominous when it came to Kyle's fate. Maria obvs tried to protect him but that ended up badly. Good for Max finding her when he did.

Got used to no promos for this show anymore. Says how little the cw cares for it. If it wasn't already renewed for S4 I'd say it was about to be cancelled.

[jqdeco]

I'm confused by the whole - Max is tethered to Liz and Kyle because he healed them.  Max healed Liz from her gun shot wound in the very first episode. When he brought Rosa back to life, his heart was already failing, so why didn't Liz get sick then? 

Also, is it just me or did Max seem a little bit off when Jones healed him? Especially at the end, talking to Liz. Did Jones and Max do some Freaky Friday body jump? Did Jones really only want to heal Max because he knew that was the only way to escape so he somehow jumped into him? 

 

[backhometome]

Finally someone in the pod squad apologizes to Rosa. Scene of the episode.

Max and his not all cops BS can stfu. 

Kyle/Liz/Max being tethered together is amusing. Poor Kyle.

[Cristofle]

41 minutes ago, jqdeco said:

Also, is it just me or did Max seem a little bit off when Jones healed him? Especially at the end, talking to Liz. Did Jones and Max do some Freaky Friday body jump? Did Jones really only want to heal Max because he knew that was the only way to escape so he somehow jumped into him? 

I'm pretty sure that was Jones in the scene with Liz, not Max. He was way too calm. LOL. And he seemed to be...waiting for her in a very particular way, as if to wait for her to speak before he knew how to respond. I think Jones has a Noah-like ability to get in through the cracks, so to speak. So I think it will sometimes be Jones, and sometimes be Max.

I doubt Heath is gone for good, but I was once again confused by his behavior in this episode. He and Liz have been on like two dates? I still think her jeopardizing his career without a care in the premiere was way worse than what she was doing in this episode, basically trying to stay alive.

I enjoyed the Kyle/Maria/Max trio again. I LOLed when Max said at first that he thought Kyle would rather wake up on the couch than the bedroom. I'm sure it's not Maria who's dead, but I only even more continue to think it's Kyle's mother, especially after Max's speech to Anatsa about the impact the Valentis had on him. I was thinking in that whole scene "Welp, Kyle's mom is definitely dead."

 

[Lady Calypso]

1 hour ago, jqdeco said:

Also, is it just me or did Max seem a little bit off when Jones healed him? Especially at the end, talking to Liz. Did Jones and Max do some Freaky Friday body jump? Did Jones really only want to heal Max because he knew that was the only way to escape so he somehow jumped into him? 

That thought crossed my mind, honestly, the moment Max woke up. The way he talked to Isobel and Michael seemed weird to me. So, if that was really Jones and not Max, kudos to Nathan Dean because Max seemed very off. Does Max even say "y'all" THAT much? And it would make perfect sense that he'd want to be free to do his own thing but also not send alarm bells to anyone about being free. He might be telling more of the truth to be believed, but he's playing a long con, for sure. And just willingly healing Max just to be put back in the pod doesn't seem very noble. 

So, if this IS now Jones, it'll be fun to see Nathan playing Jones as Max. He probably also gained some of Max's own memories when he kept getting in his head, so that could account for him being able to trick everyone as Max for a bit.

The other option is that there was no body swap, but Jones jumped into Max regardless so it's a double soul in one body situation. I think I'd prefer the first option.

[Cristofle]

I forgot to say, because I said it in spoilers - it's very cool as a book fan to finally see an alien be able to read a person's aura, as Isobel did to Jones in this episode. I wonder if that's how she'll eventually be able to tell Max is off? In the books, every person's aura is unique. She may not have had this power long enough to fully understand what Max's aura should look like, but maybe she'll eventually realize it looks more like Jones?

I'm not sure Jones swapped bodies. I think he can take over Max's mind, ala Noah. He clearly knew Noah - maybe they have similar powers.

I have to laugh that Max literally tucked Kyle in with a stuffed animal.

X

That's oddly sweet. Those two should spend more time together.

[Lady Calypso]

50 minutes ago, Cristofle said:

I'm not sure Jones swapped bodies. I think he can take over Max's mind, ala Noah. He clearly knew Noah - maybe they have similar powers.

Probably. It seems like Jones has a lot of powers he isn't talking about. I assume this is what's happening, where Jones is in Max and just has better control. But it goes back to the consent issue that this show has always struggled with. It's very icky.

[Cristofle]

6 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

Probably. It seems like Jones has a lot of powers he isn't talking about. I assume this is what's happening, where Jones is in Max and just has better control. But it goes back to the consent issue that this show has always struggled with. It's very icky.

Oh, I'm VERY icked out by it, for the same reason I was eternally frustrated by Tess in the OG series. It's gross to do this. Max is definitely being violated. But I guess in this case, they are heavily indicating Jones is not exactly...a kind being. 

I wonder if Nora and Louise were trying to "fix" Max (re: Louise's words in the flashback) by trying to figure out how he could heal without needing to kill? They obviously didn't finish that task if so, but maybe there is a way to do so, they just ran out of time.

[shapeshifter]

I am so confused. 
Due to technical difficulties, I missed that Jones went back in the cage and watched almost all of this episode thinking Max was Jones.
And now, after reading here, it seems I may not have been that far off? 

 

And, sidebar:
They called this a "stuffy," right?
Is that a new word for "plushy" or "plush toy," or is it because it's not furry?
 
 

[Lady Calypso]

Just now, shapeshifter said:

Due to technical difficulties, I missed that Jones went back in the cage and watched almost all of this episode thinking Max was Jones.

Well, Jones went back into his cage at the end of the episode, after Liz/Kyle got better. So it was only near the end that Max was likely Jones...at least for a couple of scenes. It's debatable whether it was Jones or Max in the very last scene, where Maria is found unconscious.

[Lady Calypso]

Also, I just rewatched the end scene and I THINK that I can confirm that Max/Jones are in one body. There was a split second in Max's car as he was driving, right when the explosion happened, where I think his eyes glowed. I'd need to take a closer look, but if his eyes did glow and my eyes are not deceiving me, then that means that it would indicate a switch from Jones to Max.

[Cristofle]

12 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

Also, I just rewatched the end scene and I THINK that I can confirm that Max/Jones are in one body. There was a split second in Max's car as he was driving, right when the explosion happened, where I think his eyes glowed. I'd need to take a closer look, but if his eyes did glow and my eyes are not deceiving me, then that means that it would indicate a switch from Jones to Max.

Interesting! I could not see a thing in those final scenes because I was on the stupid metro, but I will have to watch that again. I think that's more likely than straight Jones. And Max may have no idea at first? He likely would have no way of knowing he talked to Liz straight off the bat, that didn't seem like a conversation Liz was going to keep going back to.

Kyle called the toy an "alien stuffy", yeah. Also, Kyle knew where Max's hide-a-key was and used it to bring Max beer. Max and Kyle should continue this, is all I'm saying. LOL.

[Bobcatkitten]

Am I the only one not feeling this season? I'm just over someone always being sick and/or needing healed. I need something new. Just seems repetitive. 

[tennisgurl]

This show really needs to stop messing with me when it comes to Kyle's safety, I'm almost as stressed as Maria is. This was a really solid episode, with the exception of still missing Alex pretty much the entire ensemble got good scenes and I always like when they mix pairings up. Everything with the Max/Alex/Liz connection was especially well done an tense. I thought that Michael apologizing to Rosa was one of the best scenes he's had in the whole show and has been a long time coming, as much as I miss Alex I do like that him not being around for a few episodes has let Michael get to do more than pine away and self destruct over his dysfunctional love life. I do wonder where Alex is, you would think that someone would want to let him know that one of his best friends almost died and might still be in trouble. 

Kyle and Liz now being linked to Max was a good twist, certainly added a lot of drama to what seemed like could be an easy fix to save Liz at first. Also very convenient for Jones, who gets to sweep in and save Liz and Kyle while also curing Max, instantly endearing himself to the gang, even if they are all still warry of him. I still don't trust him, even if he does really care about Max and had a pretty solid answer as to why he killed a guy. I definitely suspect that him asking Isobel about Noah was foreshadowing and he has the same ability to take over peoples bodies and he might have done it to Max when he cured him. He might be telling the truth about wanting to help, but we don't know how much he is leaving out when it comes to his powers and motives. He might really care about Max but is still willing to use him for his own means, or he cares about Max in the way that someone cares about the nice car they want to buy after a test drive and he cured Max so that he can have a healthy body to jump into for some purpose. Max definitely seemed like he was acting off after he woke up, maybe its just some inconsistency in the writing, or its foreshadowing that Jones jumped into Max and took control of him. But either way, at least he's healed, so we can move past that story at last. 

Is Heath really gone for good? If he is, what was the point of him, despite him reminding us at how much Liz sucks at relationships? It did at least lead to her realizing how she and Max aren't good for each other and deciding to stay apart, even if we all know that they'll get together eventually.

Kyle really does make everything better just by being around. I loved his scenes with Max at his house, especially the fact that Max apparently tucked him in on the couch with a little alien plushie, which is hilarious and also adorable. It was really sweet how protective Maria was of him, even getting him to wear a bullet proof vest, and I laughed at how Kyle just kept running off trying to take care of people while Maria and Michael followed after him trying to get him to stay out of danger. This has also given Maria a good story, really showcasing her best qualities without her being stuck in a love triangle or playing sidekick to someone else, although I spent the whole episode worried that her protectiveness would lead to her getting into trouble, and it seems like that's what happened. So what the hell happened? Maria realized that Kyle was still in danger (cant let him out of your sight for three seconds), Kyle went to Max's house to check on him (and knows where the spare key is, which made me smile) one of the racists was there, then cut to Max getting home to see a mess, Maria knocked out, and Kyle and the racist nowhere to be seen. I know that Maria is fine, obviously its not her in the funeral vision, but where the hell is Kyle? Did the remaining racists kidnap him? Stop putting Kyle in danger damn it!

[Cristofle]

I don't think that was Max in the scene with Liz, but if it had been, the one thing I'd have protested in his shoes is that I don't think he has much of anything to do with why she doesn't treat men well. He didn't have anything to do with what she did to Diego - she barely remembered Max existed when she ghosted him. He didn't have anything to do with her fairly gleefully putting Heath's career in jeopardy earlier in the season. And notably, Liz also hasn't treated MAX very well in the past year or so, lol. I believe that she is way more invested in Max than she was in Diego, Kyle, or Heath. But that did not save Max from her using his DNA without his consent or not accepting that she'd been wrong to do so for over a year, and it seems kind of...easy on her part, to be like "Oh, I behave like this because we're bad for each other!" I think she could have Max wiped from her memory tomorrow and still treat men badly. Homegirl needs to dig a little bit deeper as to why she acts the way she does, than her and Max's orbiting is burning out or something. I think an argument can be made that they need to figure out a lot of things to learn how to be in a successful adult relationship with each other - or not, but let's be real, it's Max and Liz, so they should learn how to be in successful adult relationships - but Max is not the root of why Liz treats men like crap, lol. 

[CabotCove]

Im officially confused whether Kyle is saved or not, no one is dying anymore? Its still Kyle? its now someone else?

Twists are fine, but the show needs not overdo it to a point where the audience cant trust anything anymore or start getting confused whats true and whats not. 

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Am I the only one not feeling this season? I'm just over someone always being sick and/or needing healed. I need something new. Just seems repetitive. 

Im liking the season so far but yeah the show can be repetitive. Kyle is saved but apparently he is still in danger. Yet another episode that ends with Maria in peril. Its not even been that long. 

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BUT- the actor who plays Michael doesn't look like he's having any fun this season. I don't think it's just the writing- he's missing that Loki-style sparkle.

 

Eh, he seems to have good energy as usual to me, I think its that his character is just dealing with a lot of heavy and emotional stuff. And maybe the hair might be overgrowing a little lol.

Edited August 24, 2021 by CabotCove

[Lady Calypso]

6 hours ago, Cristofle said:

Interesting! I could not see a thing in those final scenes because I was on the stupid metro, but I will have to watch that again. I think that's more likely than straight Jones. And Max may have no idea at first? He likely would have no way of knowing he talked to Liz straight off the bat, that didn't seem like a conversation Liz was going to keep going back to.

I could be wrong on this. I did just rewatch again on my laptop instead of my phone, and no glow so it could have been a weird glitch from the video on my phone. Or I was projecting when I thought the switch from Jones to Max would have happened.

1 hour ago, CabotCove said:

Im officially confused whether Kyle is saved or not, no one is dying anymore? Its still Kyle? its now someone else?

Kyle, for the moment, is fine, but we also don't know for sure if he's the Valenti in the coffin. 

[peachmangosteen]

12 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

Kyle, for the moment, is fine, but we also don't know for sure if he's the Valenti in the coffin. 

Do we know he's fine though? I thought we saw him see someone in the alien mask the racists were wearing at Max's house and then next thing we see is Maria passed out in Max's house and Kyle MIA.

[Lady Calypso]

25 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

Do we know he's fine though? I thought we saw him see someone in the alien mask the racists were wearing at Max's house and then next thing we see is Maria passed out in Max's house and Kyle MIA.

Oh, he definitely got captured by the person in the alien mask, but how much danger he's been in within the last two episodes, at the moment, at least he's still alive and I'm holding onto hope that it stays that way.

[Cristofle]

3 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

I could be wrong on this. I did just rewatch again on my laptop instead of my phone, and no glow so it could have been a weird glitch from the video on my phone. Or I was projecting when I thought the switch from Jones to Max would have happened.

I don't know that I saw a flash, watching again, but I wonder if something about the explosion he saw behind him sort of...woke him up, so to speak. I think that might have been Max at the end. He seemed more like himself when he was trying to wake Maria up.

We don't know what that explosion was, right? I assume it was near his house, because that's where he went, but his house clearly wasn't on fire. 

Kyle is missing and presumably kidnapped, as far as I can tell. We saw him at Max's house. We saw one of the masked men appear behind him. Max saw an explosion, presumably near his property. Max showed back up at his house and found blood and shattered glass, and Maria on the floor. 

I don't know why I find Jones so amusing, but I do. His entire vibe in the scene with Liz was so funny to me, because she's trying to be all deep with her orbit metaphors, and he is just not interested at all. It's like she told him she put bad milk in the pancakes at the Crashdown and he's thinking he doesn't even eat pancakes. He's somewhere between mildly amused and mildly bored. Also, his body language with Isobel.

 

X

However, I was pondering on a darker note if perhaps Jones will use Max to kill someone. What if it's Kyle's mom? :/ Just because he sought out a bad person this time doesn't mean he always will. What if Jones uses his body to kill in order to free himself from the pod, the way Noah did re: Rosa? I mean, that would be pretty effing dark, especially given how much Max likes the former Sheriff, but it would make other pieces of the vision fit. 

[shapeshifter]

If this show was being made in the 1960s, Jones would have a distinctively different accent so we could tell them apart, without a doubt. 

[Scarlett45]

I told you guys the pretty woman with the braids would be back! (Catching up on the last few episodes)